The Skaneateles Festival has announced its 2026 summer season, running Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, Aug. 22 in Skaneateles with 13 main-series concerts, two KidsFest performances, a free lecture series and several free community outreach events.
Highlights include jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, piano virtuoso Garrick Ohlsson, Grammy-winning fiddlers Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland, and the Grammy-winning Imani Winds.
Chamber performances take place Thursday and Friday nights at the First Presbyterian Church at 97 East Genesee Street in Skaneateles. Saturday evening concerts are held at Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards. A special Friday, Aug. 21 concert takes place at The Vine at del Lago Resort and is 21 and over only.
The season opens Thursday, July 30 with the Pacifica Quartet performing two commissioned works for narrator and string quartet honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and environmental pioneer Rachel Carson, timed to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Week two brings Ohlsson, winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition, for two performances: a solo Chopin recital Saturday, Aug. 8, and a full orchestra concert Sunday, Aug. 9 pairing Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony and Fourth Piano Concerto. The Grammy-winning Imani Winds with steel pan artist Andy Akiho perform Thursday, Aug. 6.
Saturday, Aug. 15 features decorated fiddlers Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland, a 12-time fiddle champion and Grammy winner, and Carter, a three-time Grammy winner, joining forces for a full-band night of bluegrass.
The final week showcases the Terra String Quartet, the festival’s 2026 Emerging Artist in Residence and winners of the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, on Thursday, Aug. 20. The following evening, Aug. 21, Rhiannon Giddens leads the Silkroad Ensemble, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, in their new program Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual at The Vine at del Lago Resort.
The festival closes Saturday, Aug. 22 with the Skaneateles debut of three-time Grammy winning vocalist and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant, performing classic jazz tunes, French chansons and newly composed songs.
Skaneateles Festival 2026 Schedule:
Week 1
Thursday, July 30 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Pacifica Quartet — Opening Night, world premiere commissions
Friday, July 31 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Pacifica Quartet — Haydn, Barber, Franck
Saturday, Aug. 1 – Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards – Skaneateles, NY Broadway by the Lake — guest artist TBA
Week 2
Thursday, Aug. 6 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Imani Winds with Andy Akiho
Saturday, Aug. 8 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Garrick Ohlsson — solo Chopin recital
Sunday, Aug. 9 – Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards – Skaneateles, NY Garrick Ohlsson with Skaneateles Festival Orchestra — Beethoven Under the Stars
Week 3
Wednesday, Aug. 12 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Julia Bruskin, Aaron Wunsch, David McCarroll — Mozart, Bernstein, Brahms
Thursday, Aug. 13 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Elizabeth Sutphen, Alex Sopp, David McCarroll — American songs, world premiere commission
Friday, Aug. 14 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Sopp, McCarroll, Wunsch, Bruskin — Crumb, Dvořák
Saturday, Aug. 15 – Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards – Skaneateles, NY Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland — bluegrass night
Week 4
Thursday, Aug. 20 – First Presbyterian Church – Skaneateles, NY Terra String Quartet — 2026 Emerging Artist in Residence
Friday, Aug. 21 – The Vine at del Lago Resort – Watkins Glen, NY (21+ only) Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens — Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual
Saturday, Aug. 22 – Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards – Skaneateles, NY Cécile McLorin Salvant — Festival Finale
Season passes are on sale now. Week passes and vineyard passes go on sale Wednesday, April 15, and individual tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 6. Tickets range from $35 to $70 for adults depending on concert and seating. Youth under 18 are free in Section B. College students may purchase $10 tickets at the door.
→ Continue reading at NYS Music
